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This review of the Leaders and Laggards report, republished here with permission of the author, was written by Bob Williams independently, not as part of the Think Tank Review Project. Williams focuses on aspects of the report concerning alternative teacher certification and teacher tenure. He notes that the report’s authors appear to begin with the premise that "improving education requires weakening teacher tenure and union influence while supporting alternative certification and national programs to place inexperienced people ... into teaching positions with minimal training." Williams explains in this commentary how the report distorts the data in order to create state-by-state ratings that fit the authors' pre-determined agenda.